MIT is reinstating SAT and ACT requirements for incoming students

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reinstating requirements that students provide scores from the SAT orACT standardized tests for future admissions. MIT made reporting standardized test requirements optional at the start of the Pandemic.

The temporary change was meant to relieve some of the stress and obstacles students were facing when graduating from US high schools in 2020. The College Board said that millions of students were unable to take the SAT in the spring of 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions. Colleges and universities were asked to be flexible. There were disruptions for students taking the test.

The MIT Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services wrote in a new post that the assessment of incoming students is improved when they have access to the test results.

Schmill wrote that research shows standardized tests help us better assess the academic readiness of all applicants, and also help us identify students who lack access to advanced coursework or other enrichment opportunities that would otherwise demonstrate their readiness for MIT.

It remains to be seen how many other schools will follow MIT's example. According to the nonprofit education organization FairTest, more than 1,800 schools made standardized test scores an optional part of their admissions process for the high school class of 2022.

The College Board tried to make the SAT more practical. The organization said in January that it will no longer use pencil and paper exams in the US and other countries. The length of time to take the test will be reduced from three hours to two hours. The College Board said it will allow more time per question, and that reading passages will reflect a wider range of topics that students read in college.